Module 1 Flashcards
(41 cards)
What is psychology?
The science of behavioral and mental processes
What is involved in critical thinking
evaluating evidence, appraising the source, assessing conclusions, and examining our own assumptions
What consists of the scientific attitude?
curiosity, skepticism, and humility
Curiosity questions
Does it work?
When put to the test, can its predictions be confirmed?
Skepticism questions
How do you know?
What do you mean?
Must be able to be surprised and follow new ideas
Humility
What event defined the start of scientific psychology?
Began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory.
Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works?
people’s self-reports varied, depending on experience, intelligence, and verbal abitlity.
What is the imperial approach?
It is an evidence-based method that draws on observation and experimentation.
What is critical thinking?
thinking that doesn’t blindly accept arguments and conclusions.
What is structuralism?
A school of thought that used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.
An early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener~ introspection to reveal structure.
structuralism
What is functionalism?
a school of thought that explored how mental and behavioral processes function~ how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
An early school of thought promoted by Darwin~ mental and behavioral processes function.
functionalism
What is behaviorism?
The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. (Most psychologists today agree with 1 but not with 2).
It is a historically significant perspective that emphasizes human growth potential.
Humanistic psychology
The study of mental processes, such as occurring when we perceive, learn, remember, think, communicate, and solve problems.
Cognitive psychology
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition.
Cognitive neuroscience
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experiences make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.
nature-nurture issue
Nurture~ the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.
The principle that inherited traits that better enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.
Natural selection
What is evolutionary psychology?
The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of natural selection.
What is behavior genetics?
The study of relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
Culture
The scientific study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
Positive psychology
